Iskcon in Kolkata has alleged that its centre in Dhaka Upazila was burned down by arsonists in the early hours of Saturday, igniting fresh anxiety among minorities in Bangladesh. However, ANI reported that the Mahabhagya Lakshminarayan Mandir had been attacked late Friday night, and that the Iskcon temple opposite it was undamaged. The attack comes ahead of the scheduled foreign secretary-level talks in Dhaka on Dec 9.
PTI, meanwhile, said Iskcon Bangladesh described the temple set on fire as a “family temple” belonging to an Iskcon devotee while Iskcon Kolkata said the “Iskcon Namhatta Centre” had been targeted. TOI has not been able to independently verify the claims.
Iskcon vice-president Radharaman Das claimed in Kolkata that petrol was splashed at their centre in Dhaka district’s ward 52 before it was torched between 2am and 3am on Saturday. “The idols and all items inside were burned down in Radha Krishna Temple and Mahabhagya Lakshmi Narayan Temple in Hare Krishna Namhatta Sangha…” Das claimed.
ANI quoted Mahabhagya Lakshminarayan Mandir supervisor Babul Ghosh as saying a complaint has been filed against unidentified miscreants for burning down his “ancestral temple”. Ghosh said the attackers poured petrol on the idols while he was not present in the house and ran away on hearing his footsteps. He alleged that the attackers had some “bigger plans”.
Clarifying the name of his temple, Ghosh said the Iskcon temple is right opposite his ancestral temple. “The name of our temple is Shri Mahabhagya Lakshminarayan Mandir. This is one the ancient temples. Iskcon temple is in front of this; and hasn’t been damaged,” he added. Iskcon’s Das, meanwhile, urged devotees and monks in Bangladesh to avoid wearing traditional saffron robes or tilaks in public for their own safety. According to him, this is the fourth instance of an attack on a temple in Bangladesh.
While monks have not been attacked, Das said there have been attacks on congregations. “We were hopeful that things would change for the better after the interim govt held a meeting with Hindu Buddhist Christian Council. The government entering into a confidence-building dialogue was a good initiative. But this fresh arson has escalated tension,” Das said.
Condemnation poured in from various quarters. VHP spokesperson Vinod Bansal alleged that Islamic extremists were targeting Iskcon and accused global organisations of silence over the plight of Hindus in Bangladesh. In solidarity, Civil Society of Delhi mobilised over 200 organisations, including Iskcon, to protest “the unprecedented atrocities” against minorities in Bangladesh. The protest, set for Sunday to coincide with International Human Rights Day, includes a march to the Bangladesh embassy and submission of memoranda to global bodies like UN and Amnesty International.
(With inputs from Ahsan Tasnim and agencies)